Utah State had BYU pinned back on its own 4-yard line last year, then produced a sack that left the Cougars 98 yards and just a few minutes to go.
Ultimately, somehow Utah State found a way to lose at BYU last season. Now, there is a shot at revenge. Utah State will go in with high spirits and high beliefs after a 35-13 homecoming win against UNLV.
The Aggies go in with their best record (4-1) since 1978. It will be a chance to be the undisputed best team in Utah after ousting the Pac-12 member Utah Utes earlier this season. Quarterback Chuckie Keeton had a career day that included leading Utah State to 564 total yards.
“They gave me a lot of time and opened up some huge holes for (running backs) Kerwynn (Williams), Robert Marshall and Joe Hill. Our wide out running backs and tight ends made some huge plays, and they are the real heroes heading into the next game,” Keeton said.
Utah State has won nine of its last 10 regular-season games and nine of its last 11 games overall with its only losses during that stretch coming against Ohio (24-23) in the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and at Wisconsin (16-14) this season. Utah State has also won four of its last five road games dating back to 2011.
That bodes for a confident team heading to BYU. Though head coach Gary Andersen was reluctant to discuss or dissect the Cougars right after playing UNLV.
“We will get started on BYU tomorrow. We can’t understate this tremendous victory,” the fourth-year head coach said after the Aggies snapped a two-game losing streak against future Mountain West Conference foe UNLV. “It was very satisfying and it was great to see the big plays. I would like to be able to get us a couple of grinding drives, but it was great to see the big plays. It is a couple weeks in a row we have finally been able to get a win in the fourth quarter. It was great to finish a game out.”